Abridged History of the 10th Age

Byrnish Wastes

An area northwest of Byrne proper, like the Vales it lacks official oversight from any government. Nominally controlled by Halford Lemonte and the Knights of the Hawk, the region is in fact a lawless wasteland dotted with towns and hamlets under his protection. Each of the major settlements must pay Lemonte a tax or tithe fee every season for his continued protection and guarantee that the Hawk knights won’t ride roughshod over their land.

This was once a frontier area of Byrne, but in X423 the Byrnish government under King Menelau lost control of the region. This has been attributed by many scholars to the ripple effect caused by the fall of Teral as economic viability of the major lordships in the area failed. The Knights were founded only within the last 30 years, and have since occupied the old Ducal fortress at Ilrein as their center of operations.